The Spacious Mind- The no. 4 or 5 Gravy Band (Essence Music)

It is always a nice surprise when some new TSM arrives. I decided to go for the deluxe version and wow..  Very rare you see such a packaging. The record comes in thick brown polished leather sleeve that the record slides into in a normal brown cardboard sleeve. Both have special holes so that pieces of the artwork are visible. There is a unique painting the size of an LP sleeve and a small pouch that contains a CD-R of extra music from the same session. This version is only in 99 copies on a orange vinyl with black speckles.

Side A starts with the 13 min track, The Cinnamon Tree. This is a very slow spacey track with drums, bass, guitars and keyboards. Reminds me of 1969 era Pink Floyd. You don’t know it but you Are is even slower and like a spaced out drone track, nearly.   Side B, is one long tracks and starts off in stark contrast to the mellow side A, with a very intense freakout! It slowly fades down into a hypnotic piece of music, that reminds me of some of the bands earliest material from the early 90s, where there is just some layers of strange sounds in the music as it glides along in it’s own psychedelic way. Later on a groove sort of like Riders on the Storm, kicks in and there is a really nice long wah guitar solo and the Fender Rhodes keeps the vibe spacey as the bass and drums just keep a killer groove going. The end is very spaced out, just as the record started out. 

The CD-R contains one 20min track broken into 4 parts called On The Fragmentary Marches of Bells, Greeks and Dolls. It starts very spaced out with two guitars searching, bass grumbling, organ churning, sounds and trees growing, the pains of the earth, the birth of the northern hemisphere, warding off danger, bright lights shimmering, and then...........   you know the rest... A band that is still trippy and magical!

The SPacious Mind Facebook

http://essence-music.bandcamp.com

L’Ira del Baccano- Si non Sedes IS- Live MMVII (Subsound Records SSR059CD)

L’ira del Baccano are an Italian progish band that I like quite a lot. This is an archive release of a concert by the band from 2007, back when the band was called Loosin o Frequencies. These were the first instrumental gigs. The band was quite a bit more heavy back then but the roots of where the would head can be found. Doomdance (hear the track below) starts things off with some pretty heavy stuff but also some nice spacey synths mixed in as well.  Susuni di hascita Celeste starts more slowly and spacey and about 4mins in goes into a more stoner rock directions. Not a lot of guitar solos happening, most riff rock but lots of different feelings to the music. Later there is a synths solo though! 875 is nearly 12mins long and a more melodic rock track to start but it slowly gains strength and builds up. IT gets quite trippy as they go into a freaky part and then it gets quite heavy. The kick drum mix is way too much on this song at times and really annoyed me. Overall, the drums can be a bit too much in the slow parts. Don Bastinao is the shortest track at under 8mins and also a bit different, more like classic rock. They borrow a riff from someone but I could not place it.

Tempus is an 18 min journey with some Black Label Society riffs and grooves at times but mixing in some synths here and there as well. A lot happens in the course of this final track on the CD.

There is an extra 18mins (which would have fit on the CD) on the download site and on the vinyl record. 2 tracks one is a live jam and the other a track from a split digital EP from 2010.

This is a great document into the early days of this band. I think you will like it if you are already a fan of the band.

https://liradelbaccanoofficial.bandcamp.com/

DER BLUTHARSH- Wish I weren’t Here (WKN55)

Der Blutharsch and the Infinite Church of the Leading Hand from Austria are back with a new CD/LP. This is quite a productive and creative outfit and I have grown to quite like their take on life. It is not for everyone that is for sure.  This new one features 9 tracks and starts off with Evil. The music starts with a heavy guitar riff on this slow brooding repetitive track with the female vocalist, who does a mix of spoken word and singing. Wish I weren’t Here starts with some electronics and a very spacey vibe. Slowly the drums and bass and layers of other sounds grow, then the vocals begin. This would fit in well at a Goth club. End of the track is quite trippy (this is one of the longest tracks at nearly 7mins). All One has a nice guitar melody but the layers of sounds make it quite disturbing. The vocals are very dreamy and spacey as well but there is this underlying feeling of something not good happening. Make me see the Light is a more rocking track with a more uptempo but still a sort of nastiness to it. Just because I Can starts with some electronic bass and the drums are more prominent in the mix while the guitars very spacey. The vocal starts about 1min. A short track.  My Soul rests Low has a very deep bass on it and some psychedelic lead guitar at the beginning as the sounds is quite far out on this song. Trippy stuff and highly manipulated. Forgotten is an uptempo track to bring some more energy back to the dark, sometimes bleak world of the Leading Hand. This is quite a heavy, nasty track without too many vocals. He is Here the bass lines take the real lead in the sound mix. Bizzare end to this song. The last track, A Lord (check it out below) begins heavy like the record began with a more guitar oriented track. Now, we have gone full circle.

The band recommends listening to the album only when chemically imbalanced! This band has had some collaborations with White Hills and Dave W is listed on the CD, so maybe he also contributes?

http://www.derblutharschandtheinfinitechurchoftheleadinghand.com/

MOTORPSYCHO- The Crucible (Stickman Records)

Last year, MP, headed over to Wales to record their new studio album. They came back with these three long tracks (probably more was recorded!).  Deathprod is back adding some audio sounds and production ideas as well. This is usually pretty cool.

Psychotzar starts things off with an almost heavy metal riif.  The track slowly grows and features some sections of mellotron thrown in between. The first guitar solo kicks in after a few minutes and we have a longer instrumental section. Hans is just totally on top of the game these day. This band has never played better! The track has a lot of complicated sections and dynamics but stays pretty heavy. Lux Aeterna (hear below) is a 10min track with some depressing lyrics. It starts off with acoustic guitar and multi-layered vocals as it slowly grows with more mellotron. Beautiful song. I really like the bass playing and drums a lot on this track. Killer dynamics and the King Crimson inspired freakout just totally caught me by surprise and blew me away. Just as you think the track is over they return to the more beautiful and relaxed, dreamy state where we started.  There are some horns played at the end of this track as well to compliment the mellotron and melodic guitars. The lyrics are quite potent on this record.

The Crucible is an amazing journey over the entire 20mins with some really intense musical sections. IT starts with some Allman brothers like harmonies and energy before taking a turn into the 21^st century and calming down and taking a new path. Love the guitar sound when the new riff kicks in half way through and the tracks gets quite psychedelic, some of the most psyched out stuff they have ever done!

For sure, this album takes off where the Tower left off but it is even more intense. Motorpsycho are really at the top of their game and making their best and most interesting music ever. Buy it!

http://motorpsycho.no

http://stickman-records.com

The 16th Dream of Dr Sardonicus Live (winkle 36)

Fruits de Mer put on their own little festival in Wales each summer and this is a compilation of all the bands that played in 2018.  It contains 4 sides of vinyl with Sendelica getting a side of their own.  Side A starts off with a Maddy Prior track and an original by Elfin Bow with fantastic female voice with simple mandolin accompaniment. I had never heard of I am Voyager 1, which sounds like a guitar duo or one guy singing, playing guitar and making some loops. Interesting track.  Stay (all the way from Spain) lay down two more rockin’ tracks starting off with a cover of Old Man by Neil Young. This version is more keyboard lead than the original and a bit faster as well. Rock n Roll Woman another cover song (Crosby-Stills), is quite good and even features some fuzzed out guitar to compliment the organ.  Consterdine, another band I am not familiar with play a track called A Spell for Leonard. It starts with a nice bass line, strange synth-keyboard (sounds strange as it needs some delay) and drums as this jammy starts to take form. The strange keyboard line continues while the main keyboard takes over. Appears not to be any guitar in this band. Strange track. Fellowship of Hallucinatory Voyagers lay down a track called Moonlit Moorings. This is a beautiful track with bird song, flutes, nice bass lines, and vibe. The Alain Pire Experience ends side B with a Drifting South, the most rocking track of these first two sides and features some great guitar work. 

Side C is the best side and features two long tracks by Sendelica including Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. Great stuff. Side 4 starts with the Fertility Cult called Cosmic Kaishakunin, which fits perfect between Sendelica and Nik Turner. The version of Steppenwolf is quite different and parts might make you cringe but parts of it are also great and the Space Ritual track, Walking Backwards comes across as a great number.   A pretty cool double LP and all good quality mixes from the bands.

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com